46 Chap. 2.

Basic Concepts in RF Design

While the effect of flicker noise may seem negligible at high frequencies, we must
note that nonlinearity or time variance in circuits such as mixers and oscillators may trans-
late the 1/f -shaped spectrum to the RF range. We study these phenomena in Chapters 6
and 8.
Noise in Bipolar Transistors Bipolar transistors contain physical resistances in their
base, emitter, and collector regions, all of which generate thermal noise. Moreover, they
also suffer from “shot noise” associated with the transport of carriers across the base-emitter
junction. As shown in Fig. 2.44, this noise is modeled by two current sources having the
following PSDs:

2 5 2qI 5 2q IC
In,b B (2.100)
β
2 5 2qI ,
In,c (2.101)
C

where IB and IC are the base and collector bias currents, respectively. Since gm 5IC /(kT/q)
for bipolar transistors, the collector current shot noise is often expressed as
2 5 4kT
gm
In,c , (2.102)
2
in analogy with the thermal noise of MOSFETs or resistors.
In low-noise circuits, the base resistance thermal noise and the collector current shot
noise become dominant. For this reason, wide transistors biased at high current levels are
employed.

2
V nb rb
2
I n,c
2
I n,b

re
2
V ne

Figure 2.44 Noise sources in a bipolar transistor.

6h00 3 ENNS

2.3.5 Representation of Noise in Circuits Gran 4 TMB

With the noise of devices formulated above, we now wish to develop measures of the noise
performance of circuits, i.e., metrics that reveal how noisy a given circuit is.
Input-Referred Noise How can the noise of a circuit be observed in the laboratory? We

E
have access only to the output and hence can measure only the output noise. Unfortunately,
the output noise does not permit a fair comparison between circuits: a circuit may exhibit
high output noise because it has a high gain rather than high noise. For this reason, we
“refer” the noise to the input.

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 Sec. 2.3. Noise 47

Model A V n2 Model B

Noisy Noiseless
2
Circuit In Circuit

Figure 2.45 Input-referred noise.

In analog design, the input-referred noise is modeled by a series voltage source and a
parallel current source (Fig. 2.45) [1]. The former is obtained by shorting the input port
of models A and B and equating their output noises (or, equivalently, dividing the output
noise by the voltage gain). Similarly, the latter is computed by leaving the input ports
open and equating the output noises (or, equivalently, dividing the output noise by the
transimpedance gain).

Example 2.18
Calculate the input-referred noise of the common-gate stage depicted in Fig. 2.46(a).
Assume I1 is ideal and neglect the noise of R1 .

En VDD

I1
2 2
V out V n1 V n2
2 2
rO Vb In rO In rO
M1 M1 M1
Z in
V in R1 R1
R1

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 2.46 (a) CG stage, (b) computation of input-referred noise voltage, (c) computation of
input-referred noise current.

Solution:
Shorting the input to ground, we write from Fig. 2.46(b),

2 5 I 2 · r2 .
Vn1 (2.103)
n O

Since the voltage gain of the stage is given by 1 1 gm rO , the input-referred noise voltage is
equal to
2
In2 rO
2 5
Vn,in (2.104)
(1 1 gm rO )2
4kTγ
≈ , (2.105)
gm
(Continues)

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 48 Chap. 2. Basic Concepts in RF Design

Example 2.18 (Continued)

where it is assumed gm rO " 1. Leaving the input open as shown in Fig. 2.46(c), the reader
can show that (Problem 2.12)
2 5 I 2 r2 .
Vn2 (2.106)
n O
Defined as the output voltage divided by the input current, the transimpedance gain of the
stage is given by gm rO R1 (why?). It follows that

2
In2 rO
2 5
In,in (2.107)
2 R2
g2m rO 1
4kTγ
5 . (2.108)
gm R21

From the above example, it may appear that the noise of M1 is “counted” twice. It
can be shown that [1] the two input-referred noise sources are necessary and sufficient, but

E often correlated.

Example 2.19
Explain why the output noise of a circuit depends on the output impedance of the preceding
stage.

Solution:
Modeling the noise of the circuit by input-referred sources as shown in Fig. 2.47, we
observe that some of In2 flows through Z1 , generating a noise voltage at the input that
depends on |Z1 |. Thus, the output noise, Vn,out , also depends on |Z1 |.
2
Vn
Z1
V n,out V n,out

2
Z1 In

Figure 2.47 Noise in a cascade.

The computation and use of input-referred noise sources prove difficult at high fre-
quencies. For example, it is quite challenging to measure the transimpedance gain of an
RF stage. For this reason, RF designers employ the concept of “noise figure” as another
metric of noise performance that more easily lends itself to measurement.

Noise Figure In circuit and system design, we are interested in the signal-to-noise ratio
s (SNR), defined as the signal power divided by the noise power. It is therefore helpful to

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 Sec. 2.3. Noise 49

ask, how does the SNR degrade as the signal travels through a given circuit? If the circuit
contains no noise, then the output SNR is equal to the input SNR even if the circuit acts as
an attenuator.18 To quantify how noisy the circuit is, we define its noise figure (NF) as

SNRin
NF 5 (2.109)
SNRout

such that it is equal to 1 for a noiseless stage. Since each quantity in this ratio has a
dimension of power (or voltage squared), we express NF in decibels as

SNRin
NF|dB 5 10 log . (2.110)
SNRout

Note that most texts call (2.109) the “noise factor” and (2.110) the noise figure. We do not
make this distinction in this book.
Compared to input-referred noise, the definition of NF in (2.109) may appear rather
complicated: it depends on not only the noise of the circuit under consideration but the
SNR provided by the preceding stage. In fact, if the input signal contains no noise, then
SNRin 5 ∞ and NF 5 ∞, even though the circuit may have finite internal noise. For
such a case, NF is not a meaningful parameter and only the input-referred noise can be
specified.
s Calculation of the noise figure is generally simpler than Eq. (2.109) may suggest.
For example, suppose a low-noise amplifier senses the signal received by an antenna
[Fig. 2.48(a)]. As predicted by Eq. (2.92), the antenna “radiation resistance,” RS , pro-
2
duces thermal noise, leading to the model shown in Fig. 2.48(b). Here, Vn,RS represents the
thermal noise of the antenna, and Vn2 the output noise of the LNA. We must compute SNRin
at the LNA input and SNRout at its output.

Av

Antenna 2 SNR in LNA 2

V n,RS Vn SNR out
RS
LNA
Noiseless
Vout V in Vout
Circuit

Z in

(a) (b)

Figure 2.48 (a) Antenna followed by LNA, (b) equivalent circuit.

18. Because the input signal and the input noise are attenuated by the same factor.

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 50 Chap. 2. Basic Concepts in RF Design

If the LNA exhibits an input impedance of Zin , then both Vin and VRS experience an
attenuation factor of α 5 Zin /(Zin 1 RS ) as they appear at the input of the LNA. That is,
2
|α|2 Vin
SNRin 5 , (2.111)
2
|α|2 VRS

where Vin denotes the rms value of the signal received by the antenna.
To determine SNRout , we assume a voltage gain of Av from the LNA input to the output
2 |α|2 A2 . The output noise consists
and recognize that the output signal power is equal to Vin v
of two components: (a) the noise of the antenna amplified by the LNA, VRS2 |α|2 A2 , and
v
(b) the output noise of the LNA, Vn2 . Since these two components are uncorrelated, we
simply add the PSDs and write
2 |α|2 A2
Vin v
SNRout 5 . (2.112)
2 |α|2 A2 1 V 2
VRS v n
↑
It follows that
↳
2
Vin V 2 |α|2 A2 1 Vn2
NF 5 · RS 2 v (2.113)
4kTRS Vin |α|2 A2v
2 |α|2 A2 1 V 2
VRS
1 v n
5 · (2.114)
2
VRS |α|2 A2v

Vn2 1
511 · . (2.115)
|α|2 A2v V 2
RS

This result leads to another definition of the NF: the total noise at the output divided by
the noise at the output due to the source impedance. The NF is usually specified for a 1-Hz
bandwidth at a given frequency, and hence sometimes called the “spot noise figure” to
emphasize the small bandwidth.
Equation (2.115) suggests that the NF depends on the source impedance, not only
through VRS2 but also through V 2 (Example 2.19). In fact, if we model the noise by input-
n
2 , partially flows through R , generating a
referred sources, then the input noise current, In,in S
2 R2 at the input and hence a proportional noise at the
source-dependent noise voltage of In,in S
output. Thus, the NF must be specified with respect to a source impedance—typically 50 $.
For hand analysis and simulations, it is possible to reduce the right-hand side of

E
H
Eq. (2.114) to a simpler form by noting that the numerator is the total noise measured
at the output:
2
1 Vn,out
NF 5 · , (2.116)
4kTRS A20
2
where Vn,out includes both the source impedance noise and the LNA noise, and A0 5 |α|Av
is the voltage gain from Vin to Vout (rather than the gain from the LNA input to its output).
We loosely say, “to calculate the NF, we simply divide the total output noise by the gain

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 Sec. 2.3. Noise 51

from Vin to Vout and normalize the result to the noise of RS .” Alternatively, we can say from
(2.115) that “we calculate the output noise due to the amplifier (Vn2 ), divide it by the gain,
normalize it to 4kTRS , and add 1 to the result.”
It is important to note that the above derivations are valid even if no actual power is
transferred from the antenna to the LNA or from the LNA to a load. For example, if Zin
in Fig. 2.48(b) goes to infinity, no power is delivered to the LNA, but all of the deriva-
tions remain valid because they are based on voltage (squared) quantities rather than power
quantities. In other words, so long as the derivations incorporate noise and signal volt-
ages, no inconsistency arises in the presence of impedance mismatches or even infinite
input impedances. This is a critical difference in thinking between modern RF design and
traditional microwave design.

Example 2.20
Compute the noise figure of a shunt resistor RP with respect to a source impedance RS
[Fig. 2.49(a)].
2
RS V n,out
Vout
V in
RP RS RP

E (a) (b)

Figure 2.49 (a) Circuit consisting of a single parallel resistor, (b) model for NF calculation.

Solution:
From Fig. 2.49(b), the total output noise voltage is obtained by setting Vin to zero:

2
Vn,out 5 4kT(RS ||RP ). (2.117)

The gain is equal to

RP
A0 5 . (2.118)
RP 1 RS
Thus,

(RS 1 RP )2 1
NF 5 4kT(RS ||RP ) (2.119)
R2P 4kTRS
RS
511 . (2.120)
RP
The NF is therefore minimized by maximizing RP . Note that if RP 5 RS to provide
impedance matching, then the NF cannot be less than 3 dB. We will return to this critical
point in the context of LNA design in Chapter 5.

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 52 Chap. 2. Basic Concepts in RF Design

Example 2.21
Determine the noise figure of the common-source stage shown in Fig. 2.50(a) with respect
to a source impedance RS . Neglect the capacitances and flicker noise of M1 and assume I1
is ideal.
VDD VDD

I1 I1

Vout 2 Vout
V n,RS
RS 2
V in M1 M1 I n,M1

(a) (b)

E Figure 2.50 (a) CS stage, (b) inclusion of noise.

Solution:
2
From Fig. 2.50(b), the output noise consists of two components: (a) that due to M1 , In,M1 2,
rO
2 (g r )2 . It follows that
and (b) the amplified noise of RS , VRS m O

2 1 4kTR (g r )2
4kTγ gm rO S m O 1
NF 5 2
· (2.121)
(gm rO ) 4kTRS
γ
5 1 1. (2.122)
gm RS

This result implies that the NF falls as RS rises. Does this mean that, even though the ampli-
fier remains unchanged, the overall system noise performance improves as RS increases?!
This interesting point is studied in Problems 2.18 and 2.19.
6ha D 4 ENDS
6bar
S 9TH
Noise Figure of Cascaded Stages Since many stages appear inTS
a receiver chain, it is
desirable to determine the NF of the overall cascade in terms of that of each stage. Consider
the cascade depicted in Fig. 2.51(a), where Av1 and Av2 denote the unloaded voltage gain
of the two stages. The input and output impedances and the output noise voltages of the
two stages are also shown.19
We first obtain the NF of the cascade using a direct method; according to (2.115), we
simply calculate the total noise at the output due to the two stages, divide by (Vout /Vin )2 ,
normalize to 4kTRS , and add one to the result. Taking the loadings into account, we write
the overall voltage gain as

Vout Rin1 Rin2

A0 5 5 Av1 Av2 . (2.123)
Vin Rin1 1 RS Rin2 1 Rout1

19. We assume for simplicity that the reactive components of the input and output impedances are nulled but
the final result is valid even if they are not.

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